Nothing symbolized Oregon’s dominant run of the past four years—46-7 overall, four BCS appearances—quite like the smirk on Chip Kelly’s face. Yeah, the uniforms are awesome. No doubt, the Ducks’ speed and pace of play are thrilling.

But that smirk—calm, cool, confident as all get-out—kind of said it all.

Kelly and his arsenal of X’s, O’s, and facial expressions are in Philly now, and that has led folks from all over to wonder about his successor, former offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich. Can this guy really keep the Ducks at such a high level? Especially with an NCAA investigation ongoing, does he have the powerful personality and leadership chops to protect and maintain college football’s most unique brand?

“We’re different people,” Helfrich says. “I’m going to be myself in this whole deal.”

For better or worse, that means a “nice, humble guy,” according to quarterback Marcus Mariota, who often has been described with those same words.

Helfrich isn’t the only one whose personality will play a big role in keeping the Ducks in the hunt for a national championship in 2013. An elite program also turns to its quarterback. You think AJ McCarron matters to Alabama? Johnny Manziel to Texas A&M? They do, of course, but no more so than Mariota does to Oregon. With Kelly gone, Mariota instantly becomes one of the most influential players in the country.

Mariota was quiet throughout his breakout year of 2012. He spent winter, spring and summer focused and calm as he tried to beat out Bryan Bennett for the starting job. When the games came, the redshirt freshman was magnificent—an accurate, highly productive passer and always a threat to break a big run—but, still, he was deferential to Kelly and the team’s upperclassmen.

Quiet won’t cut it anymore.

“Come out of your shell,” Helfrich told him after accepting the head job in January. “Be confident in everything you do.”

Off the field, Mariota’s marching orders include making sure teammates work out when they’re supposed to and—a lot to put on a 19-year-old—making sure they go to class when they’re supposed to.

On the field, Helfrich simply wants the 6-4, 212-pound Mariota to explode. No, not by getting in teammates’ faces, but by making more of the jaw-dropping plays he was gifted by God to make.

“He’s almost humble to a fault, a teammate to a fault,” Helfrich says. “Sometimes he should force the ball more as a passer, or pull it back, fake it and be a little more aggressive as a runner.”

Mariota threw for 2,677 yards and 32 touchdowns, with only six interceptions, in 2012. He also ran for 752 yards and five scores. Terrific numbers? Sure. But on the Manziel scale, well, they could’ve been better.

Manziel is relevant here not only because he’s a former Oregon commit, but also because he’s now the guy all young college quarterbacks are measured against.

Johnny Football is spectacular, but know this: Physically, he’s no Mariota.

“We had Johnny and Marcus both committed,” Helfrich says, “and we ended up with the taller, faster, better-looking guy.”

Don’t overreact, Aggie Nation—it’s just a harmless joke.

The Manziel comparison, meanwhile, is no joke to Mariota.

“Backyard football,” Mariota says in describing the style of the player who broke Cam Newton’s SEC single-season yardage record.

“For a lot of us, it’s how we were introduced to the game—just going out and making plays. I’d like to do that. It would be fun. But it would be outside of my calling here.”

If Manziel is a fiery ball of excitement and daring, Mariota is a pokerfaced technician. Clearly, Helfrich believes there’s room in the offense for Mariota to stretch his arm and his legs some more. The challenge for Mariota—no different from his off-field responsibilities—will be getting himself there mentally.

“This year is a great opportunity and a great challenge for me,” Mariota says. “It will push me out of my comfort zone.”

With Kelly gone, the whole program has been pushed from its comfort zone. Smirk or no smirk, the head coach isn’t the only face of the Ducks now. There’s Helfrich and there’s Mariota, and not necessarily in that order.